CIMB Bank Bhd and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd recently launched its sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) for corporate borrowers who are keen to enhance their sustainability performance in alignment with any of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Incentives are offered, in the form of interest rate rebates, if the borrower is able to demonstrate that it has achieved its pre-agreed Sustainability Performance Targets (SPTs). Availability of the SLL incentive is from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024. The use of proceeds in SLLs are not necessarily limited to green projects, but can also be for projects that create impact economically or socially. According to CIMB, the SDGs which may be relevant to corporate borrowers include Quality Education, Gender Equality; Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; or even Responsible Consumption and Production. The identification of suitable SPTs and their measurements could be guided by external consultants, external sustainability indices, borrowers’ internal measurement by their own established sustainability team or from CIMB’s Group Sustainability department. The SLLs are another aspect of CIMB Group’s commitment to Sustainability, one of the key pillars of CIMB Group’s mid-term growth strategy, Forward23.

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